2021 AFC Champions League final

The 2021 AFC Champions League final was the final of the 2021 AFC Champions League, the 40th edition of the top-level Asian club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 19th under the AFC Champions League title.

2021 AFC Champions League final
Event2021 AFC Champions League
Date23 November 2021 (2021-11-23)
VenueKing Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh
Man of the MatchMoussa Marega (Al-Hilal)
RefereeMohammed Abdulla Hassan Mohamed (United Arab Emirates)[1]
Attendance50,171
WeatherClear
25 °C (77 °F)
47% humidity
2020
2022

The final was contested as a single match between Al-Hilal from Saudi Arabia and Pohang Steelers from South Korea. Prior to the match, both teams were joint most successful teams in the AFC Champions League, with three titles each. Al-Hilal won the match 2–0 and clinched their fourth title, becoming the outright most successful team in the history of the competition. As Asian champions, they also qualified for the 2021 FIFA Club World Cup in the United Arab Emirates.

Teams

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In the following table, the finals until 2002 were in the Asian Club Championship era, and since 2003 in the AFC Champions League era.

Team Region Previous finals appearances (bold indicates winners)
  Al-Hilal West Region (Zone: WAFF) 7 (1986,[A] 1987,[B] 1991, 2000, 2014, 2017, 2019)
  Pohang Steelers East Region (Zone: EAFF) 3 (1997, 1998, 2009)
Notes
  1. ^
    The 1986 final was played in a four-team round-robin format, with Al-Hilal finishing as runners-up.
  2. ^
    Al-Hilal were unable to participate in the 1987 final and were declared runners-up.

Venue

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On 20 October 2021, the AFC announced that Mrsool Park would host the final. It was later changed to King Fahd International Stadium, also in Riyadh.

Road to the final

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Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away; *: played in centralized group locations).

  Al-Hilal Round   Pohang Steelers
Opponent Result Group stage Opponent Result
  AGMK 2–2* Matchday 1   Ratchaburi Mitr Phol 2–0*
  Shabab Al-Ahli 2–0* Matchday 2   Nagoya Grampus 0–3*
  Istiklol 3–1* Matchday 3   Johor Darul Ta'zim 4–1*
  Istiklol 1–4* Matchday 4   Johor Darul Ta'zim 2–0*
  AGMK 3–0* Matchday 5   Ratchaburi Mitr Phol 0–0*
  Shabab Al-Ahli 0–2* Matchday 6   Nagoya Grampus 1–1*
Group A runners-up
Pos Team Pld Pts
1   Istiklol 6 10
2   Al-Hilal (H) 6 10
3   Shabab Al-Ahli 6 7
4   AGMK 6 7
Source: AFC
(H) Hosts
Final standings Group G runners-up
Pos Team Pld Pts
1   Nagoya Grampus 6 16
2   Pohang Steelers 6 11
3   Johor Darul Ta'zim 6 4
4   Ratchaburi Mitr Phol (H) 6 2
Source: AFC
(H) Hosts
Opponent Result Knockout stage Opponent Result
  Esteghlal 2–0 (A) Round of 16   Cerezo Osaka 1–0 (A)
  Persepolis 3–0 (H) Quarter-finals   Nagoya Grampus 3–0 (H)
  Al-Nassr 2–1 (A) Semi-finals   Ulsan Hyundai 1–1 (a.e.t.) (5–4 p) (A)

Format

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The final was played as a single match. If tied after regulation time, extra time and, if necessary, a penalty shoot-out would have been used to decide the winning team.[2]

Match

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Al-Hilal  2–0  Pohang Steelers
Live Report
Stats Report
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Al-Hilal
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Pohang Steelers
GK 1   Abdullah Al-Mayouf
RB 2   Mohammed Al-Breik
CB 20   Jang Hyun-soo
CB 32   Muteb Al-Mufarrij
LB 16   Nasser Al-Dawsari
CM 7   Salman Al-Faraj (c)
CM 28   Mohamed Kanno   83'   90+4'
RW 17   Moussa Marega   26'
AM 15   Matheus Pereira   84'
LW 29   Salem Al-Dawsari
CF 18   Bafétimbi Gomis   85'
Substitutes:
GK 31   Habib Al-Wotayan
GK 33   Abdullah Al-Jadaani
DF 12   Yasser Al-Shahrani   85'
DF 23   Madallah Al-Olayan
DF 70   Mohammed Jahfali   90+4'
MF 43   Musab Al-Juwayr
MF 56   Mohammed Al-Qahtani
MF 88   Hamad Al-Yami
FW 11   Saleh Al-Shehri
FW 14   Abdullah Al-Hamdan
Manager:
  Leonardo Jardim
 
GK 21   Lee Jun
RB 32   Park Seung-wook
CB 13   Gwon Wan-gyu   42'
CB 2   Alex Grant   20'
LB 10   Kang Sang-woo (c)
CM 17   Shin Kwang-hoon
CM 57   Lee Soo-bin   46'
RW 8   Mario Kvesić   46'
AM 6   Sin Jin-ho
LW 77   Lim Sang-hyub   67'
CF 82   Manuel Palacios
Substitutes:
GK 41   Cho Sung-hoon
DF 3   Lee Kwang-jun
DF 4   Jeon Min-gwang   53'   46'
DF 30   Kim Ryun-seong
MF 14   Oh Beom-seok
MF 37   Kim Ho-nam
MF 38   Kim Jin-hyun
MF 79   Go Young-joon   46'   81'
FW 20   Lee Ho-jae   81'
FW 25   Kim Seong-ju
Manager:
  Kim Gi-dong

Man of the Match:
Moussa Marega (Al-Hilal)

Assistant referees:[1]
Mohamed Al-Hammadi (United Arab Emirates)
Hasan Al-Mahri (United Arab Emirates)
Fourth official:[1]
Adel Al-Naqbi (United Arab Emirates)
Video assistant referee:[1]
Ammar Al-Jeneibi (United Arab Emirates)
Assistant video assistant referees:[1]
Omar Mohamed Al-Ali (United Arab Emirates)
Hanna Hattab (Syria)

Match rules[2]

  • 90 minutes.
  • 30 minutes of extra time if tied.
  • Penalty shoot-out if still tied after extra time.
  • Ten named substitutes, of which up to five may be used, with a sixth allowed in extra time.[note 1]

Notes

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  1. ^ Each team was only given three opportunities to make substitutions, with a fourth opportunity in extra time, excluding substitutions made at half-time, before the start of extra time and at half-time in extra time.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "طاقم دولي إماراتي يُدير نهائي دوري أبطال آسيا 2021" (in Arabic). UAE Football Confederation. 29 October 2021.
  2. ^ a b "AFC Champions League 2021 Competition Regulations" (PDF). the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation.
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